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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26379358">If Just A Few Things Changed</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/KasturiCucumberKAT/pseuds/KasturiCucumberKAT'>KasturiCucumberKAT</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, I am NOT kidding hakoda is absolute SHIT, The water tribe attacked, azula is still diabolical, chief hakoda is evil, he will be there tho, iroh is not as present because he is working hard, kataang is endgame, maybe yue as well, she uses her intelligence for good now, sokka and katara have questionable loyalty, suki joins team avatar, they become good later tho, toph is there later</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:22:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,864</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26379358</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/KasturiCucumberKAT/pseuds/KasturiCucumberKAT</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Avatar retold if the water tribe had attacked instead of the fire nation. Zuko and Azula protect the Avatar and make sure he masters four elements by the end of summer so he can defeat the evil chief Hakoda. Sokka and Katara try to hunt them down.</p><p>I'm bad at summaries but you could always read the tags!</p><p>(ships are the same because I like enemies to friends to lovers)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang &amp; Azula (Avatar), Aang &amp; Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula &amp; Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Introduction</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Zuko narrating)</p><p>Earth.</p><p>Fire.</p><p>Air.</p><p>Water.</p><p>Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony.</p><p>Then, everything changed when the Water Tribe attacked.</p><p>Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.</p><p>A hundred years passed, and my sister Azula and I discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang. And though his airbending skills are great, he still has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone.</p><p>But I believe that maybe, just, maybe, Aang can save the world.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Avatar</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Some events and lines will change to accommodate the story.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The boat crashed into an iceberg, and Zuko lost another tiny bit of hope. His sister jumped out, and he followed her with a sigh.</p><p>“Look, Zuzu, let me show you how it’s done!” Azula swirled her fingertips in circles, and lighting began to crackle between them.</p><p>“Azula, stop!” Zuko hissed, but he couldn’t help but watch. He’d never been able to firebend as well as his sister, and lightning bending was out of the question. Both his sister and uncle had spent so much time trying to teach him, but Zuko had eventually just come to accept that he’d never be the prodigy Azula was. “We’re not supposed to be seen!”</p><p>Azula sighed, and the lighting dissolved back into the air. “You’re no fun, Zuzu.”</p><p>“No fun?! We’re firebenders in Water Tribe territory! If Chief Hakoda’s men catch us, they won’t hesitate to drown us on sight!”</p><p>“We’ve been stuck on that boat for two weeks, trying to find our way back to the fire nation. We’ve seen nothing but ice and a water and that one fish that tasted horrible. I doubt there’s anyone close to us, or they’d have found us. I think you can relax.”</p><p>Zuko felt his anger rising. Azula was always maddeningly calm, completely unbothered. They were fire nation royals in enemy territory, on an iceberg with nothing to defend themselves except their bending, or Azula’s bending, really. They might die at any moment, and Azula didn’t even seem to care!</p><p>“How can you be so calm?!” His voice rose, and he smashed his fist into the iceberg without noticing the flames flickering between his fingers.</p><p>Azula’s eyes widened as a resounding crack sounded, and a beam of blue light shot into the sky.</p><p>And for the first time in a hundred years, a pair of eyes opened.<br/>
---<br/>
Katara squinted into the eyeglass, then almost dropped it in shock.</p><p>“Sokka!” she yelled. “Sokka, look! It’s the Avatar! It’s got to be!"</p><p>Her brother looked up from his plate of steamed fish and rolled his eyes. "Give it up, Katara. We're supposed to be helping dad by finding Fire Lord Iroh's niece and nephew, not hunting after someone who hasn't been seen in a hundred years."</p><p>Katara dug her fingernails into her palms. Of course Sokka wouldn't understand. He was the BOY, the golden child, Hakoda's heir. The only thing she had going for her was that she was a waterbender, and she'd never even learnt that properly, because she was girl, and no master would teach a girl.</p><p>But the Avatar was back. And if Katara captured him, maybe things would finally change. She'd impress her father, and prove her worth, and maybe, just maybe, someone would teach her waterbending.</p><p>"Follow that light," she told the ship's captain, and when he looked to Sokka for confirmation, he just rolled his eyes again and made a 'go ahead' gesture.</p><p>The ship started to move, and Katara's heart swelled.<br/>
---<br/>
"How- how is he even alive?!" Zuko sputtered.</p><p>"Look at his eyes, those arrows." Azula pointed. "He's in the Avatar state. And he's an airbender."</p><p>"We have to get him out." Zuko said, and his sister nodded. Fire flickered around her hands, but before she could start melting the ice, the iceberg split, and the boy fell into the rift between them.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>More stuff happens.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Azula and her brother leaned over the airbender boy, who Azula was still having trouble believing was real. Her mind was moving rapidly, sorting through everything she knew about airbenders. They were a race of monks, nomads who lived in their four temples. They were more connected to the spiritual side of bending than any other type of bender.</p><p>And they were all dead. Wiped out by Chief Unalaq a hundred years ago, on the Benders Blue Moon.</p><p>Except this one, it seemed.</p><p>His eyes blinked open slowly, then all at once. He looked around, pushing himself up into a sitting position. Then his eyes landed on the Fire Nation siblings, and he grinned. </p><p>“Flameo, hotman!” he exclaimed. “Are you Kuzon’s friends? Is he here?”</p><p>Flameo, hotman. Lingo from nearly a hundred years ago. Had this boy been in the iceberg that long? And who was Kuzon? It was a popular Fire Nation name, sure, but no notable Avatar-friends came to her mind.</p><p>“I’m Prince Zuko, and this is my sister, Princess Azula. Who are you?” Zuko helped the boy up.</p><p>“I’m Aang. Wait, Zuko?” The boy asked. “Azula? I’m no expert on Fire Nation royalty, but I’m pretty sure the prince and princess aren’t named that.”</p><p>“In your time, they weren’t.” Azula sighed. “But Aang, I think you’ve been asleep for almost a hundred years.”</p><p>“I- WHAT!?” Aang rocketed into the sky, landing on the other side. Azula cursed and beckoned Zuko to follow her. They began to scale the iceberg.</p><p>When they reached the top, Azula almost slid down again in shock.</p><p>“What is that?!?!” Zuko whispered as they moved closer. </p><p>“It’s a sky bison.” Azula whispered back. “They’re pretty harmless. Most airbenders get one when they’re young.”</p><p>“Hey guys!” Aang called up to them. “Come meet Appa!”</p><p>“Appa?” Zuko’s voice was incredulous. Azula shrugged and slid down the icy wall.</p><p>“I can’t believe I’ve been asleep for a hundred years.” Aang muttered. “What happened while I was gone?”</p><p>“It’s- uh- a long story. We’re not the best people to tell it.” Azula was stalling, and she knew it. But she couldn’t be the one this little boy that all his people had been murdered while he was frozen in an iceberg. “We should head back home, to the Fire Nation.”</p><p>Aang nodded, but Zuko frowned. “Azula, we’ve been trying to get back to the fire nation for weeks now. We’re lost.”</p><p>Azula mind had been whirring for the past few seconds, and she’d already solved that problem. “Ah, but you see, Zuzu, for weeks now, we didn’t have a flying bison.”</p><p>Zuko’s mouth quirked just a little, and Aang snickered. “Zuzu? Wait, nevermind. Come on, let’s go to the fire nation.”<br/>-<br/>Katara knew anger fueled water bending better than anything else. But even though she never had a shortage of anger, she couldn’t seem to grasp the technique.</p><p>Sitting on the deck of their ship, forced to mend a pair of pants while her brother sparred with the soldiers just a few meters, she felt as if she might explode with rage.</p><p>The ship hadn’t even moved a little. It felt like everyone was trying to sabotage her. Maybe this would fail, and no one would ever teach her waterbending.</p><p>Maybe she’d have to teach herself.</p><p>She looked at the glass of water next to her, and tried to focus her anger. She imagined her anger as a wave of magic, something that would fly out from her fingertips and freeze the ice. She made a twisting gesture with her wrist.</p><p>Nothing happened. She bit her tongue to stop herself from screaming in frustration.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Wow, this hasn't been updated in FOUR MONTHS. I almost forgot it existed.</p><p>As you might have figured, my update schedule's a bit wonky, but I fully intend to finish this. Don't worry.</p><p>A few things have changed in terms of lore. You'll find out more as the story progresses, but for now, just know that the Avatar cycle is as follows: Fire, Earth, Water, Air (Water and Fire have switched places)</p><p>Enjoy!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>112 years ago</p><p>Korra hadn’t been the Avatar for very long, but she knew when something was up.</p><p>Her uncle had always been a bit insane, everyone knew that. But maybe they’d underestimated just how insane he was.</p><p>She should’ve done something every time she heard Unalaq spewing nonsense about how the Water Tribe was so advanced, and how they deserved to rule the world.</p><p>She should’ve done something when she’d heard about how Unalaq was using his position of power to get away with bloodbending, something strictly forbidden in both tribes.</p><p>Spirits, she should’ve done something at the very beginning, when she’d first seen the spark of insanity in her uncle’s eyes and been frightened by it.</p><p>But now, she might be too late. Her parents were missing, and Unalaq had left overnight, taking almost every bender in the North with him.</p><p>Korra didn’t know what was going on, but she had a bad feeling about it all. She was only seventeen, still in the process of mastering earthbending, the last element she needed to learn. She didn’t know if she could deal with this.</p><p>The only thing she could do was wait, and hope.<br/>-<br/>Present Day</p><p>“Azula?” Aang called out. “Uh, where should I land? All the cities seem kind of...destroyed.”</p><p>“Yes, we’ve moved further inland because of the...floods. It’ll be another hour or so from the coast. Why, is Appa tired?”</p><p>“No, if it’s just another hour, he can do it. Hang on!”</p><p>“You’re going to have to tell him about the war at some point.” Zuko whispered.</p><p>“After I made the mistake of telling him about his hundred-year nap as soon as he woke up?” Azula hissed back. “I don’t think so. There are people better suited to that at the base. We’ll leave it to them.”</p><p>“Speaking of people back at the base, who do you think will kill us first?”</p><p>Azula shrugged. “Dad, probably. Mai and Ty Lee will be mad, but they’ll understand.”</p><p>Zuko frowned. “Disagree. Placing my bets on Mai.”</p><p>“Your loss.”</p><p>“What are you guys talking about?” Aang launched himself into the air, then landed across from them in a perfect lotus position.</p><p>“Just our family.” Azula answered.</p><p>“How do you do that?” Zuko asked. “Launch yourself into the air like that? It’s almost like flying.”</p><p>“He’s an airbender, Zuzu.” Azula rolled her eyes. “An airbending master, to be precise. Of course he can do that.”</p><p>“Well, it’s not really flying.” Aang said. “It’s like using the force of the air to launch myself up, like a firework. But I can fly too, using my staff. Ooh, when we get back on land, I can show you something I invented! It’s called the air scooter, and it's how I got my tattoos!”</p><p>“I can’t believe the Air Nomads let their benders get tattoos when they’re so young. Did it hurt?”</p><p>As they talked, both siblings decided they liked Aang. Their group of friends was small, but they were both willing to let Aang in.<br/>-<br/>“That’s where the light came from.” Sokka joined his sister at the prow of the ship. “See anything?”</p><p>“That boat.” Katara frowned. “That’s a Fire Nation boat.”</p><p>“So it is. You think the Fire Nation was the source of the light? I’ve heard stories about the Fire Lord’s niece, and how she can bend blue fire.”</p><p>“Maybe, but I don’t think it was them. I do think they took whoever it actually was.”</p><p>“Hmmm.” Sokka watched as the ship began to turn, and a perfect sphere of an iceberg appeared, cracked down the middle. “Shall we pay a visit to the Fire Nation, then?”</p>
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